Moving On
by The Other One 7721
Summary: Edmund Pevensie has learned to move on and let go in Narnia. But what happens when he is sent back to his own world? A world that still believes him to be a bullying beast? How can he prove he has changed when nothing is going right for him? Set after LWW
1. Prologue

Prologue

The rain hit the windows of the old mansion, adding to the melancholy of the household. The Pevensie's were leaving the Professors' house the next morning. While the children were excited to return home and see their family again, they would surely miss the Professor and their frequent talks of Narnia. The children knew that once they returned to Finchley, they would be treated like the children they now looked like. Professor Kirke knew them to have lived in Narnia for many years and they were all able to converse as adults, but that would change the moment they boarded the train. For the first time in fifteen years, they would be children again, and it was sure to be an adjustment.

The four children mentioned were sitting together in a sparsely furnished room, overlooking the acres of land the Professor lived upon. Each one was deep in their own thoughts, each one contemplating what the future had waiting for them.

Peter was wondering what it would be like to have a father and mother, after fifteen years of independence. Was he going to struggle with obedience? For so long he had been High King, he hadn't needed to listen to anybody, save his sibling. Would he be able to let go of the pride he knew he had developed?

Susan sat thinking over her loss of responsibility. While some would find it a relief to no longer be the one who had to always be responsible, she had thrived for it. She had been a substitute mother to her siblings for so long and she didn't know how to let go of that responsibility. Would she be able to fit in with other girls her age?

Lucy thought of the way she was expected to act. She had been carefree and brave; valiant. Could she act the way everyone would expect her to, could she act like a little girl? She trusted Aslan to have known what he was doing, sending them back, but she wondered whether or not she was ready. She was a grown woman trapped in a child's body. Would she be able to stand being treated as a child?

Edmund's thoughts were of a different nature. He had been quite a beast before he had gone to Narnia, and to everyone's knowledge he was still that child. He would return and people would still see him as the bully. None of them knew of the changes he went through in Narnia; how he had become his worst, only to be given a second chance by Aslan. It would be a struggle, he would have to endure the continued looks of distrust from his peers and even his parents, but it was what he deserved. There was no question in his mind of what he would do. He was going to work hard to _earn_ the trust he had willingly thrown away.

As the four sat together quietly the Professor looked on. He would miss the children. He would never say he had a favorite child, but he and Edmund shared a common past, a common shame. As he looked at Edmund intently, he knew the boy would suffer much in the next few months. Edmund had let go of his mistakes in Narnia, now he would have to let go of his mistakes in Finchley.

It is because of the great struggle that Edmund will face that this story must be dedicated to him. Sentences could be written of a young girl who wanted to be seen as brave. Paragraphs could be written of a girl who only wanted to be an adult. Chapters could be written over a boy who wanted authority. However, novels could be written of a battle sacred boy, who would live forever in the shadow of his guilt.

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Chronicles of Narnia.**

**A/N: It's been a while since I've written and I've wanted to do an Edmund story for quite a bit. The story will be limited 3****rd**** person, but there will be multiple points of view throughout the story. I am taking the liberty to change the ages of the characters to be more along the lines of the movies.**

**Peter: 16**

**Susan: 15**

**Edmund: 14**

**Lucy: 13**

**I have not yet written the next chapter; I wanted to see how well the prologue did before I put more effort into it. Please review, I appreciate any constructive criticism. **


	2. Chapter 1

As he packed his belongings into his suitcase, Edmund Pevensie tried not to think of what was to come. After a restless night, he had decided to not think of the future any longer, but it was proving to be futile. In a few hours he and his siblings would be boarding a train to take them back to their home.

It was still an hour before daybreak, but he wanted to be sure he had everything. He had been at the professor's house for such a long time, that he was certain he would forget where he had placed a few of his things. He wanted to turn on the light, but, somehow, Peter was still asleep, and the light would surely wake him up. Tiptoeing to his dresser, Edmund withdrew all of his shirts and trousers. He carefully placed them in his bag, hoping he had enough room for everything. There always seemed to be double of everything when you were packing for your return trip.

Edmund finished with his clothes and went to the bathroom to gather his things from in there. As he placed everything into a small bag, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. Like every other morning, his hair was slightly disheveled and his eyes held a trace of sleep still in them. He looked the same as he had for as long as he could remember, but he was no longer the same person.

Fighting off the worry that was quickly rising, he walked back to his room. He was surprised to see the light on and Peter moving about the room. Peter acknowledged him with a slight nod, clearly in his own thoughts. The two of them packed everything until the room was empty, except for the bare furniture.

Everyone was chattering at breakfast. Edmund relished the conversations around him, glad that he had one more meal where he could freely talk of Narnia.

"I miss watching the trees dancing," Lucy said sadly, while she ate, "It was so beautiful, I could've watched them for hours."

"You did watch them for hours, Lu, we had to come and pull you away so that you wouldn't miss the council meeting." Peter teased. Lucy only smiled.

"I say, the trees truly were a sight to see, the nymphs were the most beautiful creatures you could ever see." Professor Kirke agreed.

"I do believe I miss the centaurs the most," Edmund added to the conversation, "they were enjoyable to be around, and they helped me improve my swordsmanship."

"Yes, I do miss sword practice; it was a great way to relieve the stress of running a kingdom." Peter said.

Edmund realized the Susan had remained quiet for the conversation, so far. "What do you miss, Su"

After a few seconds pause, "I miss just being there. I miss the trees and the centaurs and all the animals there. I miss my home." It was quiet for another moment and Edmund assumed everyone was processing what Susan had said. Narnia had been home, and now they were back in England, wondering if they were ever going to go home again. The air had been different in Narnia. The peace they felt there was almost palpable. But, Aslan had sent them back for a reason, now they just had to trust Him that it was a good one.

Line Break

Edmund wasn't sure whether he should be thankful for the long train ride, or not. With the long trip he was able to prepare himself for what he would say to his parents, but he was also able to dwell on what would happen after, what would be out of his control. Would his parents easily accept his apologies or would he have to convince them he was a different person? How will it be living among people who didn't trust you? It had been hard in Narnia, but he had regained everyone's trust pretty easily after he had destroyed the Witch's wand in the Battle of Beruna. There was no witch or battle in Finchley. When he went back to school, people would only have his word that he had changed. It would take months for everyone to see that his words were backed by his actions and attitude.

But even as he sat dreading what was coming, Edmund knew it was no less than he deserved. He had come to terms with betraying his brother and sisters to Jadis, but he had still had to deal with the consequences of his betrayal. Now it was time for him to deal with the consequences of his actions at home and at school.

"Stop looking so glum, Ed. We're going to see mum and dad in just a few hours." Peter's voice cut him out of his reverie. Peter had spoken jokingly, but Edmund could see the worry in his eyes. To reassure Peter that he was okay, he shot him a quick smile and said, "I was just thinking of what it's going to be like, being back." His reply was enough for Peter, who went back to talking with Susan. Lucy had fallen asleep shortly after they had left the station.

A few minutes ago he wanted to sit and think of what was coming, but it had suddenly become quite overwhelming, analyzing the unknown. "Do you think both mum and dad will be at the station?" He asked, needing the communication.

"Dad hasn't seen us in over a year, and mum will miss us terribly, even if it had only been four months, so I do believe both of them will be there." Susan reassured. "I do hope it isn't so crowded that we have trouble finding mum and dad. It will be so tiresome, having to look all over a train station, for them. We could even pass each other in the crowds and spend hours hopelessly confused over where they are!"

"I don't think we'll get lost, Su. Mum and dad will probably be waiting for us by the exit." Peter reasoned.

As the train came to a slow stop, Edmund gathered his things. He shook Lucy's shoulder to wake her up and helped her gather her luggage. He slowly made his way to the doors. As he got off the train with his siblings, he couldn't help but wonder how everything was going to change.

**A/N: I know this is a short chapter, I wanted it to end before the met up with their parents, though. I'm sorry it took me a few days to update, but I was struggling with the dialogue. It still isn't very strong, so I'd gladly accept some help on how to improve. The chapters are going to eventually get longer; I just need to get the story rolling right now. It shouldn't be too long between chapters.**

**Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed. Please take a few seconds to review after you have read this, I really appreciate it.**


	3. Chapter 2

The chilly air hit Edmund as he stepped off the train. He immediately looked around for his parents. The station was, surprisingly empty, but he still couldn't see his parents. A few families stood gathered around, all embracing each other. _We mustn't have been the only kids returning home on this train. _Edmund thought as he saw how young the children looked. He then remembered he looked just as young.

"There's dad!" Lucy squealed. She was pointing toward the far right. Their father was slowly making his way over to them, a grin on his face. He was alone. Panic immediately assaulted Edmund, why wasn't mum here? Susan had reassured them on the train that both of their parents would be here.

As Edmund refocused on his surroundings, he realized Dad was already with them, and was hugging Lucy tightly. As Lucy stepped back, both Peter and Susan went into his arms. He understood how much they missed their father, but he suddenly felt out of place. How should he greet his father? Should he hug him or apologize? He wasn't sure what to do, so he just stood there.

"Hello, Edmund." There was weariness in Dad's voice, as if he wasn't sure himself how to greet Edmund. It was his father's uncertainty that made up Edmunds mind. He couldn't stand the thought of his dad being awkward around him. He slowly stepped forward and wrapped his arms around his dad. His father immediately stiffened before he wrapped his arms around Edmund. Tears threatened to come, but Edmund refused to let them.

As he pulled back, he saw that there was still uncertainty in his dad's eyes. Undoing the disrespect he had shown towards both of his parents wasn't going to be fixed easily.

"I missed you so much, Dad." Edmund tried to ease some of the uncomfortable atmosphere. "Where's mum?" Edmund could tell his siblings wanted to know as well. For some reason, Mr. Pevensie seemed reluctant to tell. He instead ushered them towards the waiting car. By the time they were all seated, Lucy was practically begging their father for an answer. All of them were worried now.

"I didn't want to tell you in such a crowded place, but your mother has taken very ill. Doctors can't seem to find the problem." Their dad spoke with such helplessness that Edmund could only assume their mother illness was grave.

"What is bothering her?" Susan asked, worried.

Dad's face was pale, "She is in pain. She can't move without hurting. She has been in this condition for over two weeks now." Edmund didn't want to believe him. He didn't want to think of his mother going through any type of pain. He continued, "I expect all of you do whatever is asked to help your mother. I know it'll be hard for you, but your mother has also developed sensitive hearing, so please do not be loud. Do _not _give her any trouble." Edmund knew this last part was directed toward him, he was the only one who talked back and refused to listen.

"What can we do to help?" Peter was taking charge of the three of them, but it was only natural now.

"The doctors could only give her a medicine that helps the pain, but even that doesn't work well. She needs someone to help her during the day, while I'm at work. Please take turn waiting on her. You may not want to, but she is your mother and she needs you."

"We don't mind looking after mum," Lucy insisted, "We want to do anything that could help." Their father looked a bit surprised at her enthusiasm.

"What are we going to do when school starts back up?" Edmund spoke up.

His father looked at him in the rearview mirror, "We'll have to figure things out as they come. If I have to hire someone to look after Helen, I will." Dad spoke with such conviction, but Edmund knew it would cost a lot, between that and the doctors, he doubted they had the money to hire anyone.

Twenty minutes later, Dad pulled into the drive of their house. Edmund grabbed his and Lucy's luggage and started for the house. He knew Peter would help Susan carry her things in. Back in Narnia, the Kings had taken to spoiling their sisters some. While Susan and Lucy liked their independence, they had allowed their brothers to carry their bags and any other things that they had brought on trips.

As he entered the house Edmund caught a glimpse of his fathers face. He was clearly surprised that Edmund was helping Lucy. Edmund glanced around the house and was shocked when he saw the state of the house. The floors needed a scrubbing; the furniture had piles of clothing and books stacked all over them. Edmund was sure that the kitchen would have piled up high. As Edmund went up the stairs to Lucy and Susan's room he continued to take in the houses disarray. The paintings in the hallway needed a dusting, Edmund was almost afraid to look into the bathrooms. Lucy opened the door for him and Peter, and they put the girl's things down on the floor. Their room needed a dusting, but it was otherwise clean.

Edmund then went into his and Peter's room. Like the girl's room, it only needed a dusting. He opened his suitcase up on his bed; he wanted to get everything into order as quickly as possible.

"Your mother will want to see you." There father was at the door, Lucy and Susan by his side. Edmund and Peter joined them as they made their way to their parent's bedroom. Edmund was expecting the room to be in as bad a condition as the rest of the house, but it was almost spotless. Dad must've put all of his effort into making Mum's living condition's the best, ignoring the rest of the place.

His mother was lying on the bed. She looked asleep, but as they came closer she opened her eyes. She smiled weakly at them, but Edmund thought it was the best sight he'd seen since he's been home.

"How are you all?" Her voice was weak, but she was clearly not going to miss out on her time with her children.

"Glad to be home." Peter answered for them.

"How was your time away?"

"The Professor was so nice, and his house was so big!" Lucy was speaking excitedly, but she remembered to speak quietly. Mum smiled as Lucy proceeded to tell her of the many rooms in the house, and of some of their adventures. Of course, she left out their biggest adventure; Narnia. Peter and Susan added little tidbits as they saw fit, but it was Lucy doing most of the talking. Edmund still wasn't sure how to go about speaking to his parents.

It seemed like they were only in the room for a few minutes before their father told them it was getting late and their mother needed to rest. The four of them sat in Susan and Lucy's room discussing the day.

"I feel like crying. Why can't the doctors find what's wrong with mom?" Susan looked like she was about to cry. "In Narnia, we could use Lucy's cordial, but we are helpless here!"

"No, we aren't helpless, we can do as dad asked and wait on mum. We can also clean up the house." Edmund started to share the ideas he had been thinking of during their time with Mum. "One of us helps mum and the other three clean up the house. I think Peter should take the first shift with mum. No offense, but you aren't the best cleaner, Pete." Peter didn't mind the comment.

"I think we should all take a different room. It'll get done faster." Susan looked happy that she could do something. "I'll do the dusting and moping."

"I will clean the kitchen." Lucy decided.

"That leaves the bathrooms to me. If we don't finish everything tomorrow, Peter and I will switch."

"Is there anything else we can do to help mum feel better? In Narnia there were herbs we could use to help pain. I'm sure there are some here as well." Susan was deep in thought. "I'll have to go to the library for research."

"I think Ed would be better to do the research. He knows libraries and is a fast reader." Peter said. It was true, in Narnia Edmund had spent hours in the library, reading and researching laws. "I think Lucy and Susan can handle the cleaning by themselves. Why don't you spend the day at the library, Ed. I'll help mum."

"It'll take longer to get the cleaning done, but you're right." Lucy agreed. The plan for the next day was set. As soon as dad left for work, Peter would take over looking after mum, Lucy and Susan would clean the house, and Edmund would go to the library.

Edmund couldn't sleep. He kept looking over the day, looking for a missed opportunity to show he had changed. He should've spoken up when they were with mum. He had just stood there, watching. He had been just as withdrawn as before. He realized he hadn't said anything, not even a hello. Why was this so hard? Why couldn't he just apologize? He had prevented wars with diplomacy, so why was it so hard to fix things here?

**A/N: I hope this is better than the last chapter. The dialogue was easier to write this time, so I hope the quality is better. In my timeline, the Pevensie's are going to have an entire school year before the events of Prince Caspian will take place. Thank you to everyone who has this as a favorite or added this to their alerts, but please review as well. Once again thank you for reviewing and thank you for reading.**


	4. Chapter 3

Dad left early the next morning. Peter went and took his place by their mother's side, while the girls set to making breakfast. Edmund wished he knew what to do. He wasn't any good in the kitchen, and there was no need to overcrowd Mum. He needed to get to the library, but Lucy and Susan had asked him to wait until after breakfast was done. Maybe Dad's study had a few books he could use.

He shouldn't have been surprised at the state of the study, since the rest of the house was a mess, but he was. Dad had always been so proud of his space here, and had kept it spotless. Now there were books scattered about the room, papers tossed on the chair and desk, and the trash bin was overflowing. It looked like a tornado had hit it. Dad clearly hadn't cleaned any part of this room since Mum had taken ll. It would take hours to clean. Since there was nothing else he could do before breakfast, Edmund set to cleaning.

He had only started to gather the trash into one pile, when he glanced at the clock. It had been fifteen minutes, the girls must be finishing. He went into the kitchen and helped set the table. It would only be the three of them eating together. Peter would be with Mum.

"Do you want any help cleaning up breakfast, or would it be alright if I left as soon as I'm done eating?" Edmund wanted to leave, but didn't want to be rude to his sisters.

"Don't be ridiculous, leave as soon as you're finished. Lucy and I can handle these dishes and the cleaning." Susan was helping herself to a serving of eggs. "What are you going to do for lunch? Would you like me to pack you something?"

"I have some money, I can buy myself something. I don't want you to have to do more." It was true. The girls were going to have a hard day. He felt bad that while they were cleaning while he was at the library, but he knew that each of their jobs were important.

"I hope it doesn't take long for you to find anything." Lucy looked at him. "I hated seeing Mum like that yesterday. It took all of her energy away just to listen to us yesterday." Edmund knew Lucy wasn't trying to put pressure on him, but he felt like the pressure had just doubled. It might seem crazy to a stranger, that a fourteen year old would be trying to find a medical solution that doctors couldn't find, but Edmund wasn't a normal teenager. He was well researched in healing herbs in Narnia, even uncommon ones. There had to be at least one uncommon herb in England that would treat whatever illness Mum had, and Edmund would look until he found it.

He finished eating quickly, not wanting to wait any longer for his research to start. It was humid out, as he started walking. He wanted to get there quickly, so he ran, knowing it would take him thirty minutes to get there walking. Running felt good. The adrenaline pumping made him feel like he was back in Narnia, pushing himself to his limits. He never slowed down, only ran faster. For a few moments he felt like he was strong enough to keep going; that he could succeed in anything he tried.

He finally slowed when he approached the library. The building was old and made of brick. It wasn't very large, but Edmund knew all the shelves were packed with books. He went to the medical section. He didn't know where to start. There were at least two hundred different books all with a possible answer. He decided to start at the top and work his way down. The library was empty, he noticed as he looked for a stepstool. After he asked, the librarian brought him one from in the back. He positioned it on the far left and started with the first book.

Line Break

Four hours later, Edmund was only half way through the first shelf. He had been planning on skimming the books, to see if had anything on herbs in them, but it seemed the entire section was of plants and herb. He had to flip through each chapter, making sure he wasn't missing anything. He still hadn't had any luck. Half an hour later, he took a break. He was hungry and he knew he needed to step back for a minute so he could refocus.

He quickly wrote down the name and page of the book he was on, grabbed his bag, and went outside. He made his way down to the small deli shop at the end of the street. He was shocked when he saw the prices, everything was more expensive. He chastised himself when he remembered that prices always inflated after a war, he should've expected that. He bought himself water and half a sandwich, not being able to pay for anything more. Tomorrow he would have to take Susan up on her offer to make him something.

He sat on the curb and ate. He was about to return to the library when he saw a ruckus down the road. A boy who looked younger than him was being beaten by a boy that looked to be a few years older. Indignation filled Edmund. He ran over, and before he knew it, he was in a fist fight with the older boy. He felt pain across his face, as the boy's fist connected with his left eye. Edmund moved forward and hit the boy's jaw. His knuckles hurt, but Edmund just followed it up with another punch, this time to the boy's stomach. The boy cried out in pain, and Edmund took a step back. He was only here to stop the older boy from hurting the other.

Guilt washed over him as he realized he had been the exact same way as this boy. He didn't know the reason behind this boy's behavior, but the result was the same. Both he and Edmund had picked on the smaller, weaker kids. They had created violence when there was no need too.

Edmund expected the boy to engage in the fight once more, but he turned and walked away. Edmund didn't know what to make of the boy's reaction.

"Thank you." He had almost forgotten the other boy. He turned to look at him. Closer up, the boy looked older than Edmund at first guessed. He looked to be the same age as Edmund.

"You're welcome. Why were you in trouble with him anyway?" Edmund knew it wasn't his place to ask, but he was curious.

"It's a long story. The short version is, he's my neighbor and a bully. If I don't do what he wants, he hits me. I usually just listen to him, but he wanted me to 'loan' him some money, and I need all the money I have, so I refused. He obviously hit me. Why did you help me? Dozens of people have walked by and you are the only person who did anything." The boy was staring at him hard, like he was trying to figure out a difficult puzzle.

It took Edmund a few minutes to answer. "It wasn't right." Was what he finally said. The boy just stared at him.

"My name's Jacob, by the way." The boy said.

"Mine's Edmund. I apologize if it seems rude of me, but I need to get back to the library. Maybe if you talk to the boys parents he might stop bothering you." Edmund knew from experience that it probably wouldn't do much, but at least Jacob would be putting an effort into stopping the bullying.

"You might want to wash your face before you go back." Jacob said, before turning and walking away. Edmund could now feel his eye throbbing from where it was hit, and hit lip felt moist. He walked into the library and quickly went into the public restroom. He looked at himself in the mirror and sure enough, he had a cut on his lower lip, and his eye was swelling and turning black. He grabbed a paper towel and washed up his lip as good as possible.

The rest of the afternoon was uneventful. Edmund finished the top two shelves, but he had found nothing useful. He felt defeated as he walked home. It was nearly dark by the time he entered the house. He could smell dinner, so he went into the dinning room. Lucy and Susan were sitting down, they were waiting for him.

"Oh, Edmund!" Lucy cried. "What happened to you?"

Of course that would be the first thing they noticed. "I'm fine. When I was taking a break, I saw a guy beating up a younger kid, so I defended the kid."

"You look terrible." Susan looked worried. "I hope you didn't make an enemy today." Edmund hadn't thought of that. He honestly didn't care either. He had done the right thing and that was all that mattered.

"We cleaned the entire kitchen today!" Lucy said. "We even had enough time to start on the living room, but we didn't get far. Su and I were hoping to get a lot more done, but the house is in even worse shape than we thought." Susan was nodding her agreement.

"I can help out tonight." Edmund volunteered.

Susan just shook her head. "Dad will be home soon, and we don't want to bother him either. He must be exhausted, having to take care of mum and then having to go to work."

Dad walked in the door, not twenty minutes later. Edmund tried to stay away from him; he didn't want his dad to know he had gotten into a fight, even if it was in someone else's defense. He didn't succeed.

"Edmund come outside with me." Dad's tone was strict. Edmund knew he was mad by the tight line of his lips and his sharp eyes. Dad raised his voice once they were outside. "You can't even go one day without getting into a fight? How did you even find the time to fight with everything going on around here?"

"Dad, I was helping a boy out!" He tried to get his dad to understand that it wasn't his fault. "I was out for a few moments break and I saw a boy being beat up by an older guy. I went and defended the boy."

He could see doubt in his father's eyes. "Fine, but I don't want your mother to know you are fighting again. So please don't go in to see her until after your black eye is gone." With that Dad walked back into the house. Edmund followed after him.

He went up to his room and sat on his bed. He didn't know how long it was before Peter walked in.

"What happened to you?" Peter asked immediately.

"That seems to a popular question today." Edmund said sarcastically. "I saw a fight, I broke it up." Peter looked like he wanted to ask more, but he probably guessed that Edmund had already been asked that multiple times in the past few hours. "How was your day?" Edmund asked.

"I feel so helpless. I can bring Mum things that she needs or wants, but I can't help the pain at all." Peter sounded like he was fighting defeat.

"Dad doesn't want Mum to know I was in a fight, so it looks like we're all doing the same jobs tomorrow as we did today."

"I might ask Susan if she wants to switch with me. I would ask Lucy too, but Mum sees Lu as a thirteen year old child. She would stress about Lucy hurting herself." Peter leaned back against the wall. "I don't know what I expected, coming home, but it certainty wasn't this." Edmund could only agree.

**A/N: This is the longest chapter I have ever written. I hope it is as good as my others, actually, I hope I'm improving. I'm sorry it took so long for me to update, but I had computer problems this past week, and then I was busy. **

**Please review, it really motivates me to write.**


	5. Chapter 4

The next two days passed like the first. Peter looked after Mum, Lucy and Susan cooked and cleaned, and Edmund researched. Dad still didn't see the effort Edmund was putting into his research, and, though he didn't want to admit it, it hurt him that Dad had so little trust in him that he thought he was slacking off. Because of that, he had been getting up at five every morning and straightening up his dads study.

He had been at the library since nine that morning. He was halfway done with the shelves in the medical section. Most of the books were repetitive, and he was starting to worry that the doctors were right and there was no proper diagnoses. The only thing that kept him from quitting was the knowledge that his mother was still in pain.

_One more book, then I'll break for lunch._ He picked the next book up. The title looked promising, the books supposedly listed illnesses with unknown causes. He read all of the brief summaries before each chapter.

Chapter eleven caught his attention, the title was muscular rheumatism.

_The cause of muscular rheumatism is unknown, but the symptoms are fatigue, headaches, multiple sensitivities, and chronic pain. This disease is usually diagnosed after ruling out every other option. There is no known cure, but there are several herbs and supplements that can help relieve the pain. Some doctor's still believe that this is a mental illness, not a physical one._

This could be it! He quickly went through his mother's symptoms, headache, and sensitivity to noise, and severe pain everywhere. Maybe Mum's doctor is a skeptic of muscular rheumatism. He read on to the list of herbs and supplements.

_Cayenne is an herb that helps the pain; apply it sore areas. _

_Chamomile will relieve muscular tension. _

_Ginger tea maintains good circulation and removes toxins in the skin. _

_Valerian helps relieve pain, depression, and anxiety; it also promotes restful sleep._

These would be difficult to find, he would probably have to ask Susan for help. He grabbed the notebook he always brought with him, which had remained blank until today. He wrote the book's title down, the page number, and then everything he thought was valuable. He looked up at the clock on the wall. 2:30. He had been engrossed in the book for two hours.

If he went home now he and Susan could switch places and she could look for the herbs. He ran home, this time not even noticing the adrenaline pumping.

He entered the house and went to the living room. Lucy and Susan had been working in there that morning. The room was finished; the house was almost done. The bathrooms were left. Edmund went to the downstairs one. Lucy was putting the cleaning supplies on the counter, preparing for the task. She jumped when she saw Edmund in the mirror.

"What are you doing home, Ed?" Lucy questioned.

"I found something." Voicing it out loud just added to his excitement. Lucy's eyes widened. "I need Susan's help."

"She's working on the upstairs bathroom. We just finished the living room, so she might not have started yet." Lucy had barely finished before Edmund was running down the hall. Susan was sweeping the floor when he got up there.

"Susan."

Susan reaction was almost comical. She jumped and her lips tightened into a thin line, probably to keep from yelling at being startled. "What on earth are you doing home, Ed?"

He explained finding the information on muscular rheumatism and all of the herbs that could help. "I think you'd be better at finding the specific herbs. I can take over cleaning the bathroom."

"I can't believe you actually found something that could help, it seemed like such a shot in the dark." Susan thrust the broom into his hands. "Can you give me the list?" Edmund set the broom against the door frame and grabbed the notebook out of his bag. Susan immediately went left. He didn't know how she would find them, but that was why he asked her to do it.

The bathroom was in bad shape. The swept floor didn't do much to clean the room up. Since they only had once of each of the cleaners, Edmund and Lucy had to keep going back in forth in what they were doing. Scrubbing the floor was the hardest. A layer of dirt had caked onto the floor, which was hard to scrub off. He was exhausted, but it had been awhile since he had felt this good about anything.

POV Peter

He couldn't stand to see Mum in pain, but he would never shirk his responsibility. How could Mum have gotten so sick? His mother didn't really need much; she mostly just wanted company, so she didn't dwell on her pain.

"You have done a great job of keeping quiet, thank you. How is Edmund doing? I haven't seen him since you got back. I was hoping that he might have grown to appreciate us more after he had spent four months away. I don't know what's going to get through to that child."

"Edmund's been busy helping the girls." It was a weak explanation, since both Susan and Lucy had seen Mum multiple times. Peter wanted to explain that Dad had asked Edmund to stay away because he didn't want her to worry about him fighting again, but they had both been too tired to talk much the last few nights and he didn't really know how Edmund had gotten the black eye.

The doubt on Mum's face showed that she didn't believe him. She changed the subject. "Are you ready to go back to school in two weeks? I know it's a lot of responsibility, but can you watch out for your siblings while you're gone?"

Peter nodded. "You don't even have to ask, I'll always protect them."

"You've only been back for four days, yet you're leaving again in two weeks. I'm going to miss all of you." Mum was looking more and more tired. Peter talked with her until she fell asleep, which was only fifteen minutes later. He looked at the clock; 4:00. Dad would be home soon.

**A/N: I'm sorry it took me so long to update. I know this chapter is a little short, but I'm planning on wrapping this part up in my next chapter. The chapters after that will be focused on Edmund adjusting to school. I don't know if anyone knows what muscular rheumatism is, but it is fibromyalgia. Muscular rheumatism is what it was called in the 1940's. I made up the book and article, but all of the details are correct. **

**It'll probably take me a week to write the next chapter, since I work and have school. I had decided to write the story from only Edmund's POV, but I felt like I needed to show how Mrs. Pevensie was doing and how she was upset that Edmund hadn't been to see her.**

**Thank you for reading and reviewing.**


	6. Author's Note

Hey, I'm sorry I haven't updated in two weeks. I have two laptops-one is really old and isn't reliable, hence the new one. Both decided to break on the same day. I got my new laptop fixed, only to get burdened down with schoolwork. I am going to keep working on this story; I just wanted to let my readers know why I haven't updated in a while. I have all of my research done for the end of the first arc, and it is almost done. There will only be one or two more chapters before the second arc starts.


	7. Chapter 5

Edmund was startled by the grandfather clock chiming in the hall at 5:00. He had finished the bathroom and was dusting the portraits that lined the upstairs hallway. Lucy was behind him, finishing the sweeping. He dusted the last two portraits before he said anything.

"You and Su did a fantastic job cleaning this all up. I do believe you had the hardest task."

Lucy looked around her shoulder at him. "I don't believe any of us did a better job than anyone. We all completed out tasks, which means we all succeeded."

"Maybe so, but cleaning the entire house in three days would be a daunting task for me to undertake." Three days ago he wouldn't have thought it possible. His sisters were truly astounding.

Lucy walked towards the stairs, "Let's put all this up and start on dinner. It is rather simple so you _shouldn't _have any trouble." He followed her into the linen closet, where all the cleaning supplies were stored. As Lucy put everything in its place, he surveyed the downstairs rooms. The living room didn't have a cushion out of place, the windows were spotless, and the floor didn't have anything on it. The kitchen was scrubbed almost to the point of glowing. There was a small towel by the sink, the counters had nothing on them but a few cooking utensils. He opened the cabinets; the dishes were all in their proper places. Lucy and Susan were incredible.

"We finished dad's office yesterday. I know you started it, but we figured it fell into our job category." He hadn't heard Lucy enter the kitchen. "Can you get the lettuce, peppers, and cucumbers out of the refrigerator? You're going to prepare the salad." He could easily do that. He enjoyed the small talk between them while they worked. He had missed having someone to talk to the past three days.

As he was cutting the peppers, he heard the front door open; Dad was home. The stairs creaking meant that he had gone upstairs to check on Mum first. He hated the anxiety he felt around his Dad, but it was his own fault.

He heard someone coming downstairs. A moment later, Peter walked into the doorway. "Dad's taking over now, so is there anything I can do to help?" Peter then seemed to realize Edmund was standing there. "What are you doing Ed? Why aren't you at the library?"

"I found something. I believe mum has muscular rheumatism, which is a disease that some doctors don't believe exists. It explains why Mum's doctor wasn't able to diagnose her. There aren't any cures, but there are several herbs that help with the pain and other symptoms. Susan left as soon as I got back; she has a better chance of finding them than I do."

Peter just stared at him for a few moments, and then a small grin broke on his face. "I can't believe this! Good job, Ed, I can't believe you did what a trained doctor couldn't! When can we tell Mum and Dad?"

"I would wait for Susan to find them before we say anything. No reason to get Mum's hopes up only to tell her we can't find them. Su could find them today, or it could take a month." Edmund had just thought of that. He had found a list of herbal treatments, but that didn't mean any of them were available.

"Can you two please talk as you work? I'm sure both Mu and Dad are hungry." Lucy admonished them. Peter went to help her at the stove (Edmund had no idea what they were making). He finished cutting up the vegetables and mixed them with the lettuce. After he was done, he set the table. Peter was pulling what appeared to be a roast out of the oven.

"I'll go get Dad." Lucy said before leaving the room.

Peter was strangely quiet now. Edmund glanced over at him, and it looked like he was trying to decide if he should say something or not.

"Go ahead, Pete," was all Peter needed.

"How exactly did you get your black eye?" Edmund was surprised it had taken Peter this long to ask him.

"I was taking my lunch break from the library, when I saw a kid my age being hit by an older boy. I couldn't just sit there, so I went up to stop him and ended up in a fist fight. At one point the guy managed to hit my eye." It didn't seem like such a big deal to Edmund, but Peter seemed to be holding back anger. "What?"

"I can't believe Dad is refusing to let you see Mum because you _defended _another kid. If anything Mum would be proud that you refused to let a stranger get hurt. She hasn't said anything, but I know it's killing her that you haven't spoken to her, especially since she doesn't know why." Peter was almost yelling. "I am so angry at Dad for doing this to you and mum. Can't he see that you changed in the last few months?" A cleared throat caught Edmunds attention. Beyond Peter, were Lucy and Dad. Dad was staring at Peter like he was an enigma. Peter turned and paled. He hadn't thought he would be overheard.

"Edmund, come outside with me." Dad's voice was strained. Edmund followed obediently. Just like the other day, his dad led him outside. His dad was facing away from him; it took him a full minute to turn around.

"I'm sorry." That wasn't what Edmund was expecting. "You have to understand that it's only been four day since you've been back and I've barely seen you. But Peter was really passionate about you being different, and they've spent more time with you then I have. I'm sorry I didn't listen to your explanation of your black eye. Peter's right, your mother would be proud that you stood up for that kid. I am too."

Edmund just stared at his dad. He had apologized? He was proud of him? He felt so overwhelmed. Dad had never said he was proud of him before. He wasn't anywhere near done with his struggle, but a little bit of it had been overcome.

Dad offered him a small smile before he started to head back into the house. He stopped when he reached the door. "What were you doing at the library?"

Edmund froze. He had just told Peter and Lucy to wait to tell mum and dad, but he hadn't been expected to be outright asked. He swallowed; he couldn't lie to his father. "The four of us refused to accept that there was nothing we could do for Mum, so we decided to do our own research. Since I am better at it, I was given the job of going to the library and checking out the medical book, Lucy and Susan took to cleaning, and Pete's been taking care of Mum."

"You're only fourteen, Ed, how could you understand any of those medical books?" Well, there wasn't really a way to tell the complete truth on that one.

"I mostly skimmed the list of symptoms to see if any matched with Mum's. Today I found something called muscular rheumatism. It is a chronic disease that is mostly pain, but there are other symptoms too. Some doctors are skeptical that it is even real, so they don't diagnose it. There isn't a cure, but there are some herbs that help relieve the symptoms. I gave Susan the list and she is out now looking for them. She should be back any minute now. We weren't going to tell you or Mum because we didn't want to get your hopes up." Everything came out in one breath.

Dad just looked at him. It felt awkward.

"I am so sorry. I completely misjudged you Edmund. I thought you'd been slacking off since Susan and Lucy have been doing the cleaning." Without saying anything else, his dad stepped forward and embraced him. Dad wasn't much for hugging and neither was Edmund so it only lasted a second, but Edmund would always remember it as the beginning to healing his relationship with his parents.

**A/N: One more chapter of this arc. I am so sorry that it took me so long to update, but after my computer broke, I had writers block. I guess I lost my rhythm. This had been my favorite chapter to write yet, only because I love Edmund so much and I am glad he has started to see his hard work pay off, even if it is only the start. **

**Please review. Thank you for reading this.**


	8. Chapter 6

Dinner was nearly over by the time Susan returned home, empty handed. Edmund tried to swallow his disappointment. He shouldn't have expected her to be successful so quickly. He didn't even have an idea how she could find any of the plants outside of the market, which was huge. It would probably take her a few days.

After dinner was cleaned up the four of them sat together in the living room; Dad was upstairs with Mum. No one spoke for a few moments.

"What now?" Lucy broke the silence. She didn't expand on her question, but they all knew what she was asking. They had expected to have to adjust to life back in Finchley as soon as they got off the train, but their mother's illness had given them a focus immediately. With the house being clean, Susan looking for the herbs on her own, and Peter being the only one who could look after Mum, Edmund and Lucy had nothing to do.

"What did we do during the summer before we went to Narnia?" Peter asked.

"I honestly don't remember," Edmund shifted in his seat, "I think I would spend the days reading."

"I played outside with my friends." Lucy answered, her usual enthusiasm gone. Lucy's friends wouldn't expect her to be any different from when she left four months ago. None of them could even imagine that she had spent fifteen years as a queen in another land. "With Mum being my focus, I didn't even think of what to do about fitting in with everyone. I've grown up so much since I last saw them; I wonder if I still like the same things they do."

"You won't know until you try. Maybe tomorrow you can go over to Caroline's house and play." Susan suggested. It seemed like she would continue her motherly role in here in Finchley. Lucy didn't look like she was ready to see how much things had changed, so Edmund came to her rescue.

"Why don't we wait until you're done searching for the plants, Su? We still need to cook, and I certainly can't do it on my own. Once things have settled down at home, we can all try to figure the rest of life out."

It wasn't long before the hard hours of work they'd put in caught up with them. It was only 9:00 when they all retired to their rooms. Edmund felt like he had only been asleep for a minute when he awoke to the sun shining through the window in his and Peter's room. Glancing at the clock on the wall, he saw it was almost 7:30, he had overslept.

He quickly got dressed and went downstairs. Lucy was already working on breakfast; she was standing by the stove, scrambling eggs.

"You could've woken me up."

She turned around. "I know you haven't been sleeping well, so I wasn't about to wake you up. Besides, breakfast is easy enough for one person to make." She turned back to the eggs. "Dad left a few minutes ago, and everyone else is still here. Peter said Mum is awake, so as soon as I'm done with the eggs, I'm going to bring two plates upstairs for her and Peter."

Five minutes later Lucy went upstairs. He filled a plate for himself and sat down at the table, waiting for her to return. It wasn't a long wait. She looked uncertain when she entered the kitchen.

"What's up, Lu?"

"Mum wants us all to join her for breakfast upstairs. I told her I would and that I would ask you." Edmund almost said yes. He wanted to have the chance to see and speak to his mother, but then he remembered his black eye. Dad had told him not to see Mum until it was healed. He and his Dad had talked last night, but he had no idea if the restriction was still in place. He wasn't about to upset the ground he had made with his Dad.

"Please tell Mum I'll do it another day." Lucy looked disappointed, but nodded anyway. As she made her way upstairs, Edmund tried to fight off the wave of self-pity that hit him. He was trying so hard and nothing was working out for him. He would have to spend the morning alone while everyone else was having a good time together.

"If you keep staring at your food instead of eating it, it'll go cold." He looked up, startled by Susan's voice. She smiled gently at him, before sitting down with her own plate. "Honestly, Ed, do you really think I would leave you down here all by yourself?" Edmund just stared at her.

"Thank you."

Neither of them spoke during the meal, but the fact that Susan had decided to join him instead of the others meant the world to him.

The rest of the day went by slowly. There really was nothing else to do besides cooking, and that only took thirty minutes before each meal. Lucy and he spent the rest of time playing chess. Susan returned at six and told them she still hadn't had any luck. Dad was home shortly after. He said hello to all of them, before he went upstairs. After dinner, Edmund retired to his bedroom to read an interesting book on trains. A knock on the door diverted his attention.

Dad came in and sat on the edge of the bed. "I wanted to talk to you again last night, but you went to bed early and were still asleep when I left." He paused. "I explained why you had stayed away to your mother last night. I told her that you had fought defending another boy, and that you were given a black eye. She knows you only stayed away because I told you to. She'd like to see you now."

Edmund stood up, his heart pounding. He couldn't believe he was so nervous to see his own mother. He slowly made his way to the house's master bedroom. The door was opened, so he entered and shut it behind him. Mum looked at him as the door shut. Edmund was not an emotional person, but he couldn't stop the tears that filled his eyes and spilled down his cheeks. Guilt assaulted him. How could he have ever been so cruel toward his family? his mother?

Helen Pevensie patted the sheets beside her, and Edmund lied down and cried. He sobbed out apology after apology, hoping they made sense. His mother just held him and assured him that nothing could ever make her stop loving him and that she had forgiven him the moment he had made his mistakes.

Nothing else was said, nothing else needed to be said.

It took Susan another day to find a good supply of ginger to make ginger tea with, and another four days to find the valerian. The effects weren't immediate, but slowly Helen Pevensie started moving about the house. A full week after she had started treatments, she was cooking the first meal they would enjoy as a family in four and a half months.

**A/N: I hope this was a good conclusion to the family arc. I'm a little afraid it feels rushed. I'm not sure when I will start the second arc, which will take place at Edmund and Peter's boarding school. It'll probably be two weeks, since I only have a rough outline for it right now.**

**Thank you so much for reading this far. Please review.**


	9. Chapter 7

The next couple of weeks went by as expected. There were bumps along the way, but the six of them had started making their way back to being a close family again. Mrs. Pevensie still had bad days, but the treatments that Edmund and Susan had found made for more good days than bad. Mr. Pevensie and Edmund had started to repair their relationship, thought it was a long way from being perfect. Lucy found that she fit in well with her friends, for she still remembered how to be a child. Susan still looked after them all, and with Mrs. Pevensie still having off days, she was needed around the house, which pleased her. And lastly, Peter looked out for his siblings as he always had. He and Edmund spent most of their days together, discussing politics, battle strategies, and the like.

It would be easy to say the story ends here. Everyone lives happily ever after, the end. But it doesn't. There is more than one hill to climb over, and sometimes, the next one is even steeper.

3 3 3

The train was late. Edmund tried to keep from getting frustrated, but he was anxious to be off. School started back in two days, and they needed to be there early so that they can get situated in their dorms. He honestly didn't see the need to go two days in advance. Beside him, Susan was starting to get impatience as well. She was fidgeting and kept glancing at the clock on the wall. If he wasn't anxious to be off himself, he might have found some amusement in her display. Looking on his other side, he saw that Lucy and Peter were deep in conversation, figures they weren't stressed.

He knew why he was so anxious. As soon as he stepped foot on the campus grounds, a new challenge would arise. Things had worked out at home, but Edmund couldn't help but think what might've been different had Mum not gotten sick. It definitely helped him. Not only would the circumstances be more difficult, but there were a lot more people to convince at school than at home. He had no idea what to do, except to stay out of trouble. He wished he and Peter could dorm together, but Peter was a few years above him, so it wouldn't be possible. Lucy and Susan would be at a completely different school, too.

He heard a whistle blow in the distance. Looking up he saw that it wasn't their train. Where was it? Now even Lucy looked upset. Five minutes later the train pulled into the station. Edmund grabbed his and Lucy's suitcases; these were larger than the ones they had taken to the Professor's, so it was harder for Lucy to lift hers up. Peter led the way through the train to an empty compartment. They put their suitcases on the racks and sat down.

A voice sounded from above them. "I apologize for any inconvenience. We had experienced mechanical difficulties at our last stop and had to take time for repairs. I assure you that everything is in proper order, but we will be off schedule for the rest of the day. Once again, I apologize for the inconvenience."

"That would've been nice to know while we were waiting." Edmund grumbled. Peter nodded in agreement.

"I'm not looking forward to this at all. We aren't going to get to see each other as much." Lucy said solemnly from her seat in the corner. "It's been so long since we've been separated."

"Honestly, Lu, I figured you'd prefer this than to when we went to war." Peter was trying to lighten the mood. "There's hardly any danger in attending school."

"Peter's right. This is nowhere near the most dangerous thing we've ever done, so we shouldn't dread it so much. We need to focus on fitting in more than anything." Susan said. Edmund wasn't sure he agreed. Fitting in was what he had done when he joined with William and Brandon.

"I'll still miss seeing Peter and Edmund so much. At least I'll get to see you, Su."

After stressing over the train being late, the train ride wasn't long enough. They departed the train at the same stop; the schools were only across the road from one another. There wasn't much interacting between the two, though. "We'll try to see you as soon as we can." Peter promised. He went and hugged Susan, then Lucy.

"Don't get yourselves into any trouble." Edmund said as he allowed the girls to hug him. After a quick wave, he and Peter set off for Hendon House Boarding School for Boys. The grounds were empty, which pleased Edmund; he was not prepared to face everyone yet. He wasn't ashamed of his change, but he didn't know how to go about making things right. He and Peter made their way to the principal's office to get their dorm rooms and their class schedules. The door was shut, so Peter knocked before they were called in.

"Welcome back, Mr. and Mr. Pevensie. I am glad to see you have returned." He didn't look too pleased to see Edmund. "I have all the schedules over here, so please sit down while I find yours," he gestured toward the chairs. They both sat. All the while, Edmund was praying he didn't get but in a dorm with William or Brandon.

"Here they are." Principal Brunker returned to his desk. I laid them out in front of them. "Your dorm assignments are on this sheet." He pointed to the paper title Assignments. "And your schedules are on this." He pointed to the other paper. "You will be expected to attend all your classes. On top of that, there are electives listed that you might want to consider. As long as they don't interfere with your classes, you can take as many as you would like. If you have any questions please come see me." With that he stood up and opened the door for them. Peter grabbed both of their papers and walked out first. As Edmund passed the principal, he was sure the guy was trying to intimidate him.

As they exited the building, Edmund took in the landscape for the first time. It was summer, but the grass was green and well manicured. There were trees scattered about the grounds, and a pond was by the dormitory. He hadn't appreciated the beauty of this place before. They walked across the lawn toward the dorms.

"We should look at them now." Peter said once they were inside. Edmund had been trying to put it off, not knowing what he would do if he was living with one of his former 'friends.' He took the assignments paper from Peter and quickly scanned the names. He was relieved to see that there was no William or Brandon next to his name. In fact, the boy was a complete stranger to him. Jacob Alwin. He hoped he hadn't bullied the boy at some point.

"Well?" Peter asked him, knowing his concerns.

"A complete stranger."

"I'm with Othen this semester." Othen was a quiet boy in Peter's year. Edmund didn't think he'd ever heard the boy speak. "I do hope he's not as shy as he was last year. He really needs to learn to speak up."

The two walked towards Edmund's dorm first. The empty room indicated that Alwin was not here yet. The walls were grays, but the two windows let in enough sunlight to keep the room from seeming dreary. Two beds sat opposite of each other against the walls. There were two identical nightstands next to the beds, and two dressers across from them.

"Well, I'll leave you to unpacking. See you at dinner, Ed." Peter walked out the door. Edmund just set his things in the middle of the room, deciding to give Alwin the choice of which bed he wanted. He opened his suitcase and pulled out one of the books he had brought. The book was about the mechanics of trains, ironic after that morning. The book was interesting enough to keep him entertained until dinner that night. Only a few other people showed up that night, and Alwin wasn't one of them. Edmund finally picked the bed on the right, and went to sleep. He'd have to wait until morning to meet his new roommate.

**A/N: Well, here is the beginning of the second arc. I watch Voyage of the Dawn Treader last night and it really got me into a writing mood. I hope this flows well with the first arc. Once again, thank you for reading my fanfic. **

**Please review, I appreciate it immensely.**


	10. Chapter 8

**A/N: I would like to apologize for not updating for three weeks. I recently got addicted to Naruto and have been spending all my free time watching. (I watched the first two seasons - 104 episodes - in one week) I've been on vacation for the past week, so this is my first chance to start writing. It took me two hours to write this, which is longer than usual, so I actually think this is going to be my best chapter.**

Edmund woke to the door shutting. He rolled over and saw a suitcase and bags piled on the bed across the room. There wasn't another person in the room, so he assumed he had just missed his new roommate. He looked at the clock on the wall: 6:17. Lying back down, he tried to go back to sleep. When he was still awake ten minutes later, he got dressed.

His roommate had not yet returned, so he decided to go for a walk around the grounds. Last year he had hardly given his surroundings a glance, but since Narnia he had developed an appreciation for the beauty of nature. The morning air was crisp as he walked outside. The fog was thick, which made seeing difficult. He made his way toward where he knew the pond was. He remembered pushing a kid into it. The trees next to the pond were swaying with the breeze.

Looking out at the beauty he has never given thought to before, Edmund felt compelled to ask Aslan for help. He opened his mouth to pray, then shut it. He was no longer in Narnia. Aslan had said he would always be with them, but did that only apply to Narnia? Could Aslan hear his prayers from another land? Up until now he hadn't thought about Aslan much. He had only been focused on proving himself to his parents, and now his peers. Did he still pray to Aslan while in England?

No longer noticing his surroundings, Edmund made his way back to his room. He didn't pay attention to anything until he got back to his room. Light was streaming out from under the door. He would finally meet his new roommate. He opened the door. The boy was facing away from him, unloading his bags. From the back, Edmund could see they were the same height. The boy's hair was black and longer than the common English haircut. He turned around and his eyes widened in surprise. He must not have heard Edmund come in. Edmund was surprised as well. This boy looked familiar. His hair was flat on his forehead, almost in his eyes, which were a bright blue. Under his blue eyes were dark circles, indicating sleepless nights.

Not wanting to appear rude, Edmund held out his hand. "My name's Edmund. Pleasure meeting you." The boy tentatively shook his hand. "Jacob."

Why couldn't he place where he had seen this boy? Jacob turned back around to finish unpacking. Edmund was about to say something when Jacob spoke again. "I am sorry I wasn't here last night. I believe there was a misprint on some of the papers. When I went to the front office to get my schedule this morning they asked me what say my papers said to arrive. Apparently it was only after they had printed most of the papers that the mistake was realized. The secretary just changed the rest and left the printed ones the same. She didn't think it would be a big deal if we were late since classes don't start until tomorrow." That explained why there weren't many people here. Edmund felt relieved to know that he hadn't gotten the wrong date, though. It wouldn't have started his year well.

"Well, I hope you don't mind that I claimed my space already. I was going to wait on you, but when you didn't come before night, I had to just pick."

Jacob laughed. "I don't care. I am so focused on not messing up and making a fool of myself today that as long as I make it through the day without embarrassing myself, you can have anything you want."

"Well, the only things that could get you in trouble with the principal is cheating, goofing off in class, and fighting." Edmund had broken two of these three rules himself. At least he never cheated, right?

"What are your classes?" Jacob had already pulled out his list. Edmund went to his dresser and picked up the list. "I have English first period, Algebra second, Science third, lunch fourth, History fifth, and Geometry sixth."

"We have English, lunch, and Geometry together." Three out of six classes was more than Edmund had expected. "Are you planning on taking any extracurricular classes?"

"I was thinking fencing." Jacob didn't sound like he wanted to. Edmund had thought of fencing too. He had even gone so far as to study a few techniques. In the end he had decided his Narnian style of sword fighting and fencing were too different to combine. He had been over a little of the list, but nothing else had appealed to him. He realized Jacob was looking at him expectantly. "I don't know. I had thought of fencing, but decided against it.

Jacob was quiet for a while, clearly in thought. "I don't know anyone here, so would you like to find something to do together? I understand if you want to spend the time with your other friends." Edmund bit back dry laughter. Other friends. The only person here who even liked him was his own brother. Edmund agreed to Jacob's idea, wondering what Jacob would do when he realized everyone hated him.

**NARNIANARNIANARNIA**

They spent the next hour pouring over the list of activities. By the time they went down for breakfast, they were no closer to a plan. As the entered the cafeteria, Edmund scanned the room for Peter. He was sitting with other upperclassmen. Peter waved them over. The boy sitting next to Peter, McNair, looked confused. Edmund understood. A year ago Edmund and Peter wouldn't be caught near each other unless Peter was lecturing Edmund.

Edmund sat down next to Peter, and Jacob sat next to Edmund. Edmund leaned back so he could make introductions, "Peter, this is my roommate Jacob. Jacob, this is my brother Peter. This is Jacob's first semester here." The older boys whom had been staring at them, went back to their meal, though Edmund suspected they were still listening. Jacob seemed oblivious to the stares. Edmund and Peter started conversing. They were talking about broad topic, like the weather or which classes they were looking forward to, so Edmund expected Jacob to join in, but he never did. Looking at him from the corner of his eye, Edmund noticed he looked uncomfortable. He had reverted back to the shy boy Edmund had only seen for a second that morning. Jacob had seemed to warm up to him immediately, and Edmund was sure Peter was easier to talk to than himself, so he had no clue as to why Jacob remained quiet. Maybe it was just that they were roommates and Jacob had been forcing himself to open up to make the year easier.

"Jacob and I are going to go finish setting our room up." Edmund stood up. Jacob was only a second behind him. He had one strange roommate.

**NARNIANARNIANARNIA**

After Edmund and his friends left, McNair turned to Peter. "What is up with your brother? Last year he avoided you at all costs, this year he purposely sits next to you. Since when did you get along?"

How to explain without including Narnia? Peter had run into the same problem when he was talking to Mum. Edmund had gone through a radical transformation that really could only be explained by what happened in Narnia. He settled on an answer similar to what he had given his mother. "Between getting sent away due to the war and our mother's illness, he grew up." I wasn't a lie. It was between those two events that they went to Narnia.

McNair shrugged. "We'll see."

It hurt Peter to know that Edmund would be under constant scrutiny again. He had only been in Narnia for a short period of time, and, except for Mr. Tumnus, Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, and the fox, no one had known him until after he had repented for his betrayal. He had put his own life on the line in the Battle of Beruna, which showed his dedication to righting his wrong. There were a few Narnian's that had taken longer to convince, but by the time they had ruled for a year, Edmund was known throughout the land as King Edmund the Just, the greatest diplomat Narnia had even known.

Here in England most people had known Edmund for years. He had the reputation of being a bully, for picking on the weak. Now he was here, just a year later, claiming to be different person. It would take a while for people to give him a second chance. And if he made a single mistake, there would be no third chance.


	11. Chapter 9

Chess. After going over the list again and again, Edmund and Jacob finally found something they both had enjoyed. Jacob admitted to being more of a watcher than a player, but he said he was willing to learn. They agreed to sign up together. As they headed downstairs to turn in their papers, Jacob was telling Edmund of when he had tried to teach himself chess. "My mum had seen how interested I was in watching it, so she bought me a board. I decided I had seen it enough times to know how to play, so I attempted to set up the board. My mom offered to help me, but I was determined to do it right myself. I ended up having the rook in the bishop's spot, the queen in the rook's spot, and the bishop in the queen's. I gave up after that." Edmund laughed as they turned the corner.

He froze. He had known he would run into either William or Brandon at some point, but he was not prepared for it to have happened so suddenly. William was standing down the hall, grinning at him. "Is he a victim or a friend, Pevensie." William motioned to Jacob. Edmund suddenly felt awkward. Even though their friendship had been based on bullying, Edmund had spent almost all of his time with William. To say that their friendship was over in front of Edmund's new friend felt strange. Jacob took a step behind Edmund.

"He's a friend of mine." Edmund didn't know how to say he was done, so he put it bluntly. "I'm done bullying." Both William and Jacob looked at him in surprise. Jacob took a step back, while William stepped forward. William quickly went from surprised to angry.

"What makes you think you can just be done? You said you would join us so we would stop picking on you." Another step forward. "If you're done bullying with us, then I guess you go back to being the victim." Another step. A year ago, William would've been able to beat him easily. But a year ago, Edmund hadn't been to Narnia. Now Edmund was a master sword fighter, and just as good at hand to hand combat. Edmund didn't have his Narnian strength, but it was often strategies and thinking that won battles. William lunged, but he was slow. Edmund ducked and stepped to the side. He used William's momentum against him and shoved him in the shoulder. William lost his balance and sprawled out on his stomach.

Not wanting to get into a real fight, Edmund turned to leave. It was only then that he realized Jacob was still standing there. Jacob just stood there, wide eyed. Edmund opened his mouth to try to explain, but Jacob spoke first. "He's getting up." Edmund turned to see William lunging at him again. Stepping to the side, Edmund jabbed William's ribs. William doubled over in pain, but Edmund knew it was from shortness of breath. He hadn't hit him hard enough for there to be any damage.

Edmund bent down to William's level. "I said I was done with you. That means finished. Tell Brandon that if I see either of you picking on a kid or starting a fight, I won't hold back." He could see the fear in William's eyes. Edmund stood up and met Jacob's gaze once again. "You were like him." Edmund wasn't sure if it was a question or an accusation. Edmund nodded anyway.

"I'm not anymore." Edmund didn't want to lose this friend. "Why don't we go up to our room, and I can tell you the whole story. There isn't anyone in the office to turn our papers into right now." If there was they would've come out to break up the fight. Jacob nodded his head slowly and turned to go back up the stairs. Edmund spent the entire walk trying to figure out what to say and where to start. He finally decided he needed to go back to when he was being bullied himself. Jacob sat on the floor in front of his bed, Edmund sat across from him.

Edmund took a deep breath and began. "William and Brandon have always enjoyed picking on those weaker than them. I don't know why, but they do it as a pass time and hobby. I was always a scrawny kid, so I was an easy target. The first time they bullied me was when I was walking to the cafeteria for lunch one day. They just laughed and walked off. I wanted to go to my brother for help, but when I knocked on his door, he told me to come back later, that he was studying. I realize now that Peter had no way of knowing that I needed his help, but then all I saw was my brother ignoring me when I needed him most.

I tried to stand up for myself, but I wasn't physically strong enough to do so. Then I tried avoiding them, but that didn't work either. It seemed to me like they had all their focus on me. I told this to my best friend at the time, and he confided in me that they had picked on him to. They never beat him, though, they only teased him. One day I'd had enough of being the victim. I begged them to let me join them, in exchange for them to stop beating me. They told me that if I really wanted to be one of them I needed to prove it. They told me to beat up my friend. I did. After that everything else was easy. I had already betrayed my best friend, everyone else was easy." Edmund paused, unsure of how to tell the next part. He had already come this far, why not tell everything?

"This next part is going to sound a little crazy, but please let me finish." Jacob nodded. "Last year, because of the war, my sibling and I were sent off to the country. We ended up in a mansion with an eccentric professor. We were playing Hide and Seek, when Lucy came barreling into the hall, claiming to have been gone for hours. It had only been a few seconds. She then said she had gone through an old wardrobe into another world and visited a faun named Mr. Tumnus." Jacob raised his eyebrows. "None of us believed her, but I went so far as to mock her and tease her. Later that night, I followed her into the wardrobe. I met the White Witch there. She claimed to be the Queen of the land, Narnia, but she was a fraud. I agreed to lead my siblings to her in exchange for being made a prince." Edmund realized the parallels between his two betrayals. He had betrayed those closest to him to better himself.

"After going back to our own world, I denied ever being in Narnia. Later, I led everyone into the wardrobe in an attempt to hide from the strict housekeeper. My siblings refused to go with me to the witch's castle, so I went alone. I was punished for not bringing them. I was later rescued from my captivity, and Aslan, the rightful King, took on the consequences for my betrayal. He allowed himself to be killed by Jadis. Her followers then attacked us. We were losing until Aslan miraculously showed up alive. We won the battle. Afterwards, Aslan made the four of us kings and queens. I was known as King Edmund the Just. Can you imagine going from traitor to a king? Especially one called the Just?"

Jacob was staring at him. Any moment now, Jacob would get up and leave, or tell him he was crazy. "It sounds crazy, but I believe you." That wasn't what he had expected.

"Why?"

"Because it sounds too ridiculous for someone to have just made up." Jacob seemed to be deciding something. "Since you've been completely honest with me, I'm going to be honest with you. Do you have the time to listen to my story?" Edmund nodded. He had nothing, but time.

Jacob closed his eyes and started. "I grew up in an abusive home. My father was an alcoholic and he beat my older brother and me. My mum was never home, she had to work to provide for us. My dad eventually left us. Then my brother started drinking. He became an alcoholic like my dad and started to hit me. Once again, my mum was too busy working to notice. My brother died from alcohol poisoning. Because of my dad and brother, I developed a distrust of people. For a few weeks I locked myself in my room, not wanting to come in contact with anyone. My mum worked hard to help me, and I eventually let her in. She tried to help me open up to others, but it didn't help. We even moved, but that just made it worse, because our neighbor's kid was a bully. Mum decided to send me to school this semester to try to force me to open up. She had been teaching me privately up until now.

"The entire train ride here prayed for the strength to let go of my past and to at least be friends with my roommate. When I got here you were asleep, then I left and came back and you were gone. I was so relieved not to have to face you yet. Then as I was unpacking I heard you come in. I took my time turning around, not wanting to speak to you. Then I saw you. I can't tell you how relieved I was to know my prayer had been answered." Edmund had no idea why Jacob would assume his prayer was answered after seeing him. Across from him, Jacob was laughing. "The first time we met was a month ago in Finchley."

The dots connected. That was it! This was the boy he had defended back when he had taken his lunch break from the library.

Jacob continued, "I was able to trust you so easily because you were the first person to step up and help me."

**A/N: I was so excited about this chapter, that I started and finished it on the same day as my last chapter. When I first wrote him, Jacob was only supposed to be a supporting character. No backstory, no real personality, just a friend who helps Edmund move on. A plot device. Then Edmund met Jacob in their dorm, and I immediately fell in love with him. I decided that Jacob needed to be a big part of this story too. Jacob is going to need Edmund just as much as Edmund is going to need Jacob. **


	12. Chapter 10

Edmund looked at Jake, who was concentrating on their chess match. They were alone in an empty classroom. Edmund had been helping Jacob improve, which was proving to be a challenge. Jacob knew how to set the board up and how each piece moved, but he struggled with strategizing.

"You don't want your queen captured. If your opponent still has his queen, and you don't have yours, it makes winning more difficult." Edmund offered, seeing that Jacob was eyeing his queen.

"I know!" Jacob was clearly getting frustrated.

"Why don't we take a break?" Edmund suggested. Chess was a game to play when you are calm, to keep going would only be more frustrating.

"No, just give me a few seconds." Edmund nodded. Jacob leaned back and closed his eyes. Edmund guessed he was trying to concentrate. In the past two weeks, Jacob had improved tremendously, but he couldn't see it. It didn't help that his opponent was Edmund, who struggled with going easy on Jacob. Jacob opened his eyes and sat straight. He stared at the board for a few seconds more and then moved his bishop four spaces. Edmund thought through multiple strategies before settling on moving his knight, which put it diagonal from Jacob's bishop. If Jacob moved his bishop again next turn to capture Edmund's knight, then Jacob's king was free to be captured by Edmund's rook.

Jacob moved his bishop. Edmund won on his next turn. Jacob let out a sigh. "I'm never going to win."

Edmund couldn't help laughing. "It's only been two weeks and you've improved a lot. And, Jake, I have been playing for over twenty years." That brought a smile to Jake's face.

"Can you tell me another story about Narnia?" After every match, Jake had asked about Narnia. At first, he asked questions like: What did you wear? Did all the animals talk? How did you travel? What did you use for light at night? After a while, Jake had settled for just listening to stories of their different adventures in Narnia. Edmund had retold the story of his first trip to Narnia, this time in more detail.

Edmund enjoyed telling the stories as much as Jake enjoyed listening to them. It was nice to be able to talk about Narnia to someone outside of his family. He thought through his adventures, and decided on telling the story of Shasta. Jake sat wide eyed, enraptured in the story. Jake was still shy around most people, though he did seem a little more at ease around Peter, now.

Line Break

Edmund sat alone in his Algebra class. The classroom had ten desks in it and two chair at each desk. Edmund glanced around the room; there was another kid who sat by himself. The first day, Edmund had approached him and asked if he could sit with him, but the boy had refused. So Edmund sat alone. He tried to take notes, but he could hear the boys behind him whispering. He tried to block it out, until he heard his name.

"I don't know what game Pevensie's trying to play. Whatever it is, I'm not falling for it." One was saying.

"William and Brandon probably got tired of him hanging around them, so the kicked him out of their group. I bet he's only being nice so he isn't a loner." The other responded.

"He's not completely alone, there's that kid who shadows him everywhere."

So him being nice was being taken as a ploy to get friends? Edmund felt sick that this was how low people thought of him. He had known it would take time, but that people wouldn't even take the time to consider him changing, hurt. Class ended none too soon. Edmund decided to skip lunch, no longer feeling up to it. Instead he went to the library. Wanting to keep from dwelling on the fact that he hadn't made any progress, Edmund tried to distract himself with a book on trains. It didn't work.

Line Break

A few minutes before lunch, Jacob was by the lake reading his Bible. He had found the spot behind the beech tree a week ago, and he had been using it for his quiet time since. He couldn't read much, but sometimes a Psalms helped to calm him. He had spent his last period by himself, and he was shaken. And angry. He hated his fear of people, but there wasn't much he could do to get over it. He had tried. For the longest time, his mom was the only person he trusted, but then he met Edmund. He didn't even know why he trusted Edmund so quickly, but he figured it was because Edmund had stood up for him before.

He opened to Psalms 23 and began to read. _Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me._ (v.4). He didn't know why that verse stood out to him, so he finished up the chapter and hurried to his room to put the Book away. Looking at the clock, he saw that it was still a few minutes early for lunch. Once he left his room he headed to the cafeteria, figuring Edmund would be there.

When he arrived, Edmund wasn't anywhere to be seen. He waited for five minutes before the panic started setting in. He had been able to prepare himself for the times he knew he was going to be alone with people, but this wasn't one of them. He looked down every row of tables, but Edmund wasn't at lunch. He was about to leave the cafeteria when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He jumped and spun around to see Peter. His heart still pounded, but Jacob was relieved that it was Edmund's brother. Peter looked confused at his reaction. He must've been able to read the fear on Jacob's face.

"I don't know where Ed is, so why don't you sit with me?" Peter motioned to the table he usually sat at. Jacob shook his head. He turned to leave when his stomach growled. It would be a long time before dinner. He turned back to see that Peter hadn't moved yet. Jacob took a step toward him, and Peter must've taken that as a yes, because he started walking towards his table.

Peter spent most of the meal talking with his own friends, occasionally making a comment t Jacob. For some reason, Peter's approach helped Jacob feel a little bit calmer. Peter seemed to know that bombarding Jacob with conversations wasn't a good idea.

_Must be the king in him._

**A/N: Okay, so I know this chapter took a while to update, I'm sorry. I was out of state, then I wrote the first half, then I spent the next two weeks debating whether or not to restart the chapter. Tonight, I finally finished, though I'm still not pleased with it. Originally, I wasn't even going to have this chapter, but I realized it was important to show some of Edmund and Jacob's friendship and time passing between events. Not everything can happen back to back. This one is a little short, but the next one should be longer. Thank you for sticking with me.**


	13. Chapter 11

While Jake had found himself enjoying his time with Peter, he left shortly after he finished his meal. His next class was History and his assignment was still in his room. As he made his way down the corridors he thought of his time with Peter. Sure, he hadn't said anything, but after a few minutes, his panic had died down. He smiled at his accomplishment. He had been trying for years now to get to the point of being comfortable around people. Today he had been successful, even if only mildly.

He opened the door to his room, hoping Edmund was there. He wasn't. Jake grabbed his assignment and bag and headed back down the hallway. Edmund's classroom was close to his. Depending on where Edmund was, he might pass him on the way. He wanted to share with his friend what he had managed.

Jake left the building and headed for the structure on the left, most of the classes where held in that building. With two stories it was easy to miss someone, though. The grounds were empty, which meant that lunch was probably just finishing. He went into the building and walked up to the second floor. His history class was the last room on the left. As he entered, he saw that he was the only person there, besides the teacher. He took his seat anyway. The professor looked up at him then went back to reading the curriculum.

Jake sat there for ten minutes before the rest of the class came. He was relieved when none of the boys sat next to him. The bell rang, signaling the beginning of class.

"Today we will be learning the beginnings of our culture. Open your textbooks to pg. 57." Jake did as the teacher instructed. He actually liked history, despite many people saying it was a boring subject. He took notes as the class went on, mostly because it gave him a reason to look down the entire time. Time went by quickly and the bell rang. Jake gathered his bag and left a few steps ahead of the rest of his class. He was one of the few people who had his sixth period class upstairs. He was halfway to the first room, which was where the geometry class was, when he realized he had never turned in his assignment.

Rushing back, Jake caught the teacher just as he was packing up his things. He pulled the paper out of his bag before handing it to the teacher. He was just about to leave when the teacher spoke. "I will say Mr. Alwin, that you have impressed me. You do a very good job on any assignment, and you had the best grade of anyone on the quiz you took at the beginning of the week."

"Thank you." Jake said without thinking. He froze when he realized he had just spoken to someone. He glanced up, and his teacher was clearly surprised as well. The teacher smiled at him, then walked out. Jake stood there for a moment. What was going on with him today? First he had enjoyed himself at lunch then he had actually spoken to someone! Mixed with his joy was a new emotion: pride. For the first time in his life, he was proud of himself. He had taken a few steps outside of his comfort zone, and the result was that he was getting braver.

Grinning as he entered the hallway, he couldn't wait to see Edmund. The next class wasn't for another few minutes. There was ample time between classes, since it could take up to fifteen minutes to get from one classroom to another. Jake looked up and realized he was alone in the hallway. Most of the boys were probably downstairs talking before class began. Deciding not to go into the classroom so early, Jake sat on the floor and leaned against the wall.

He was staring at the ceiling, trying to quickly go over some of his geometry work, when he heard footsteps. He looked over, hoping to see Edmund. All of his bravery and joy vanished. It wasn't Edmund at all, but William and Brandon. Both were wearing smirks. Jake stood up and tried to run to the classroom, but he felt a hand on his shoulder before he made it anywhere close. Immediately he felt pain the back of his head. One of the boys must have punched him. He fell to the ground. His head was throbbing. He struggled to stand when he was kicked in the stomach. He cried out.

"Don't worry; this has nothing to do with you." One of the boys snarled. Another kick. "We just want revenge, and you're the best way to get it."

Jake heard what they were saying, but didn't really comprehend it. He was grabbed forcefully by the collar and dragged to his feet. "Tell anyone it was us and this will never end." William held him, while Brandon used him as a punching bag. With each hit, Jake cried out. Where was the teacher? Probably in his office behind the classroom. The next punch was in the nose. Jake could feel the blood rushing out, staining his closes and the floor.

He faintly heard footstep again. This time they were rushed. Brandon moved away, and William pushed Jake to the floor. Jake saw that the person approaching was Edmund. Edmund punched William in the gut before turning to Brandon. He swung at Brandon, which connected with his nose. At that moment Jake realized that was a mistake for two reasons: 1. Now Brandon's nose was bleeding, which meant that no one would know that he also had Jake's blood on him, 2. the geometry teacher was now standing in the doorway.

"Break this up, now!" The teacher, Prof. Hanson yelled. Edmund turned around. Jake knew this looked bad. Three guys were lying on the ground, beat up, and Edmund was still standing. Other boys had started to come up, and the hallway was filled with curious watchers. Edmund still stood frozen, staring at Prof. Hanson.

"I was giving you the benefit of the doubt, boy." The professor's words were acid. "If you were just going to go back to this, then why have you been wasting your time for the past two week? Stevens, Richards, and Arnold, help these three boys down to the infirmary."

At that, Edmund started to protest. "I hit William and Brandon because they were beating up Jake. I was coming up for class when I heard a scream. I ran the rest of the way up when I saw the hitting Jake. They pushed him to the ground and I took that chance to hit them. I only did it to help my friend."

"You've always been a liar, Pevensie."

"I'm not lying. What I told you is exactly how it happened. Right, Jake?" Edmund turned to look at Jake, his eyes pleading him to just nod his head in agreement. Jake opened his mouth to agree when he heard Williams words, "Tell anyone it was us and this will never end." He couldn't do it. He couldn't go through another year of being tortured. He had suffered so much. He wasn't going to put himself through any more pain. He shook his head.

Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Brandon smirk. This was their plan. They wanted Edmund to hit them so that he would get in trouble. They had used Jake because they knew he wouldn't say anything. He looked over at Edmund. Guilt assaulted him as he saw the look in his eyes. The professor told the class to sit down and wait for him as he escorted Edmund to the principal's office. Jake went to the infirmary, where they made sure his nose wasn't broken.

He had done what was best for him. In a way, he had stood up for himself. So why did he feel this guilt? As he lied down on the infirmary bed, and tried to sleep, one image kept appearing in his mind. He tried to think of something else, but his mind kept going back to what he had seen in Edmund's eyes after he had shaken his head: betrayal.

**A/N: I had planned on the chapter also having Edmund point of view, but the scene turned out to be longer than I expected. The next chapter shouldn't take me long to write, I already know what I'm going to write. I just want to explain that William and Brandon saw that Edmund was heading towards the stairs, though he was a bit behind them. They also knew that the professor was in his office, since they had been attending that school for several years.**

**Here's a funny little tidbit. I was about to upload this chapter, when I realized I had written the last two paragraphs in first person. It actually flowed better, but you can't go changed person in the middle of a chapter.**

**Sorry I took so long for me to update. I am in the middle of moving, and I was on a mission trip last week. I am still moving, but I should have time to get another chapter up before the week is over. **


	14. Chapter 12

Edmund wasn't really sure what happened. He knew he had rushed up to help Jake. He knew he had hit both William and Brandon. He knew he had been blamed for everything. But the actually events were blurry. Everything had happened so quickly. What stood out against everything else was Jake's betrayal.

Edmund admitted he had been worried Jake might still be too shy to even nod his head. He had almost expected him to do nothing. Edmund couldn't describe the hurt he felt when Jake shook his head. In one instance he felt like a knife had been taken to his heart. There were other feelings mixed in, but that sharp pain was the most prevalent. It must have been like what his siblings felt whenever he had gone against them, especially with the White Witch. The pain he had put others through, the pain he had repented of, was now the only thing he could feel. Ironic, wasn't it?

Was this retribution? Was the pain he was suffering because he had put others through so much pain? He had thought a change in attitude and actions would be enough. Repentance: renouncing the old ways and turning away from them. Wasn't that all that was required? Didn't he already do what he needed to? Maybe this was Aslan's way of making sure he never forgot.

No. He might not always understand Aslan's ways, but Edmund knew that Aslan wouldn't punish someone for something they had already been forgiven of. But was Aslan even here? Edmund had tried to figure out if Aslan was in this land or not. It was hard to imagine a talking lion roaming the streets of London.

Knowing he couldn't speak out loud, Edmund offered up a silent plea. _If you can here, I need your strength._ There was no immediate calmness, no sudden answer, or even a feeling of bravery. But as he sat there in the principal's office, Edmund knew one thing. This wasn't about him, this was about Jacob. But not even that quelled his anger.

NARNIANARNIANARNIA

Jake opened his eyes. He must have fallen asleep while in the infirmary. His nose was still throbbing, but it didn't hurt, which probably meant it wasn't broken. Immediately an image of Edmund's eyes came to mind, but Jake shoved it away. There was no point in dwelling on it. He had done what he had to.

Five minutes later the nurse came in and told him he could go. Glancing at the clock, Jake saw that it was past dinnertime. Oh, well, he wasn't hungry anyway. His motions were slow and his body stiff, but Jake slowly made his way outside. Despite there being cool weather, not many people were outside. Jake made his way toward the building where his room was. He opened the door and stepped inside when a realization hit him. He shared a room with Edmund.

Not ready to see him again, no matter what he told himself about the guilt, Jake turned and went back outside. Looking around he saw his spot was empty. He went over and sat under the tree. Tired from the walking he had just done, he closed his eyes.

"I was looking for you." Jake was startled by Edmund's voice. He looked up, but avoided Edmund's eyes.

"Why?" That was a stupid question. Of course he was looking for him.

"I just want to know why you lied." Edmund's voice was level, calm. Jake was surprised it didn't have any anger in it. Maybe he was angry and just hiding it well. Edmund did use to be a diplomat.

Jake contemplated answering him or not. He felt a prick of shame for hurting his friends, but once again he pushed it aside. He had only stood up for himself. He had done nothing wrong. Because he had done nothing wrong, he should feel no guilt in telling Edmund his reasoning. "I didn't want to be their punching bag for the rest of the year. I just stood up for myself." He tried to keep his voice calm, like Edmunds, but his words were laced with shame.

"So you think you're more important than anyone else." Edmund calm demeanor was starting to crack. There was a steely tone in his voice.

"What? No, that's not true."

"You allowed everyone to believe a lie about me so that you wouldn't hurt. People believing that I'm the same boy I used to be, that hurts me." Jake opened his mouth to defend himself, though he didn't know what to say. It didn't matter. Edmund turned and walked away before Jake could get a word out.

NARNIANARNIANARNIA

After he had left Jake, Edmund went up to his room. He sat on the edge of his bed, trying to calm himself down. He wasn't surprised when a knock sounded on the door. "Come in." He said

Peter came in and sat next to him. "I heard."

Of course Peter had heard. Even in a boys school gossip traveled quickly. Peter's friends had probably loved telling Peter that they had been right all along. Edmund was still the same; he had just been fooling Peter. But Edmund knew without a doubt that Peter wouldn't believe the lies.

"What really happened?" Peter wasn't blaming him, only wanting to know the truth.

"I went upstairs to find Brandon and William hitting Jake. I stepped in to help him. I did hit both boys, but it was only because Jake wasn't going to stand up for himself. At that time Hanson came out and saw all three boys on the floor, and immediately blamed me. I tried to defend myself, but he wasn't listening. I turned to Jake, since he knew what had happened. He shook his head, saying that was lying." Edmund felt Peter tense up beside him. Peter may act cool most of the time, but Edmund knew he was as overly protective of him now as when he was in Narnia.

"How are you doing?"

"I'm angry and hurt. I thought that in this mess of making up for my mistakes, I had at least one friend. Now I am back to where I was last year, only this year it's worse, because I claimed to be changed, only to be called a liar by my one friend. Now people won't believe me. All they will see is a boy who's cried wolf."

Peter didn't say anything.

NARNIANARNIANARNIA

Peter fought to remain calm. This was his little brother, and someone had hurt him.

"Don't you go getting into trouble too." Edmund said from next to him. Peter looked over at him. Edmund could read him so well, even when he tried not to be. He wanted to find Jake and make him pay for betraying his brother. Then he wanted to find William and Brandon for causing the situation. Then he would go to the principal and defend his brother. It was tempting, but Edmund was right. William and Brandon would likely tell someone in authority that another Pevensie brother was beating them as well.

No, getting revenge wouldn't do anything but cool Peter's own anger. "Since your days are now free, are you up for practicing our sword fighting?"

Edmund looked at him curiously, "How?"

"There's a clearing back in the woods. True, we don't have actually swords, but we should be able to find some sturdy sticks, so we can at least work on our form." This would help Edmund. In Narnia, Edmund had always taken his anger out by practicing his forms. It wouldn't be the same, not having swords, but hopefully it still had the same effect.

**A/N: I actually wrote the first half of this chapter at the beginning of the week, I was just too busy with moving to finish it. I wish I hadn't of stopped, because I feel the story lost its flow when I stopped and then restarted. I usually have to write everything in one setting. I really like how the beginning turned out, though.**


	15. Chapter 13

A week had passed since that day. Jake had done his best to avoid Edmund since that day, with the exception of when he went to bed. Every time he thought of what he had done, he shoved the thought from his mind, unwilling to dwell on it. School was even harder now. Even if Edmund hadn't been in all of his classes, he at least had a friend to rely on. Now he was alone. At least now every seemed to ignore him, no one caring about him now that he wasn't Edmund's friend.

Jake walked outside, Bible in hand, and went to sit under his usual tree. He opened it up and started reading from the Psalms. He was just randomly flipping through when he noticed that something had obscured his sunlight. Looking up, he saw a boy staring at him. The boy looked familiar, but after a few weeks of going to the same school, everyone looked familiar.

"Do you really believe everything that book says?" The boy asked. For some reason, Jake didn't feel nervous around him.

"Yes, I try to live my life by the Words in here." He had always tried to be a good Christian.

"When was the last time you prayed?" What? That wasn't a question you went up and asked strangers. Jake didn't answer.

"Do you know what the second greatest commandment is?" The boy kept asking questions.

"Love thy neighbor as thyself."

"Hypocrite." There was no condemnation in the boys' voice. It said it as if it was merely a fact.

Immediately Jake lying about Edmund came to mind. He had allowed his friend to get in trouble and be hurt because he was afraid. He finally had a friend, a neighbor, who he could love, but he had just pushed him away. "Do you know who your neighbor is?" The boy was still there.

"My friends, those close to me."

"The Pharisees once asked the Christ, 'who is my neighbor.' He then told a parable about three men who walked by a man badly beaten. The first and second ignored him, but the third, the one who was supposed to be an enemy, took care of him. Who is your neighbor?"

Jake looked away from the boy and down at the ground. He had always feared those around him. This boy couldn't be telling him that those same people he had feared he should've loved. His father, his brother, he should've loved them? He didn't have that ability. He had been trying to forgive and get over his fear and mistrust for years, but he just didn't have the strength. How many chances at sharing the gospel had he missed because of his fear? He had wasted so many years, and even now he couldn't just trust everyone. He cried out a prayer. What could he do?

_Tell the truth._ There were no audibly words, and Jake wasn't even sure he really heard them, but he knew the truth in them. Telling what had really happened with William and Brandon was the first thing to do. _I don't have the strength to do this._

_Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me._ He set of to the principal's office.

NARNIANARNIANARNIA

Edmund was panting and sweating from his practicing with Peter. It felt different to be using sticks instead of swords, but Peter was right. It was better than nothing.

Edmund looked at Peter, who was panting and sweating just as much as he. They hadn't been fighting, just going over the form they knew, but the exercise was still exhausting.

"Why don't we head on back? It's close to dinner time." Peter motioned toward the path that lead back to the school. Edmund nodded. He went to one of the bushes and put his stick underneath it. He didn't want to have to find a new stick every time they came back. Peter put his next to Edmund's.

The boy's chatted about a lot on the walk back. The two had been together every minute possible this past week. They ate their meals together and spent as much of their free time together as possible.

"Oh, by the way, Ed, I sent Mum a letter." Peter abruptly changed the subject from that of the war with the giants.

"Okay, why are you telling me?" Like Edmund cared whether or not Peter mailed Mum.

"Mum was sent a letter by the school saying what you had done. I just wanted to make sure she knew the truth, so I sent one as well." Peter calmly explained. Edmund felt a little irritated that Peter would mail Mum about him, but he was also thankful. At least he wouldn't get in trouble at home.

Edmund was about to open the door to the cafeteria building, when he heard a voice behind him. "Mr. Pevensie, I would like to see you in my office." The principal said. Edmund only nodded. What had he done this time? Maybe he was in trouble for wandering into the woods.

"I'll wait for you." Peter called to him and Edmund followed the principal. He nodded toward Peter, acknowledging him.

Edmund had been to the office many times in his stay at this school. Most times he knew exactly what he was in trouble for, but today he had no clue. He sat in the small, uncomfortable chair across from the principal. It didn't take long for the principal to get down to business. "One week ago you were accused of inciting a fight with your fellow students. You said it was self defense as well as defense of your friend. Said friend denied what you said. Is that all correct?"

What was this? Why was he being called in now for something that had happened a week ago? "Correct."

"Mr. Alwin came forward this afternoon and changed his story. He said that he had been threatened by William and Brandon and was afraid to tell the truth. I took his story into consideration, and looked back over yours. Both stories coordinate, so I am going to remove this from your record. A letter will also be sent to your parents explained the mistake." Edmund nodded, but his mind was elsewhere. Jake had actually gone to the principal and told the truth. He was being pardoned. It all seemed too much to wrap his mind around in that second. "If you don't have anything more to add, you are excused." Edmund went to find Peter.

Peter was still waiting for him at the door. Edmund must've have still looked confused, because Peter stared at him curiously. "What happened?"

"Jake backed up my story. It's being removed from my record." Edmund felt the beginning of a grin tugging at his lips. Finally something good had happened at this school.

"Really? Jake did?" Peter looked shocked. The two went in to eat. All through dinner, Edmund's mind was on Jake. What happened that Jake would tell the truth? He might not have known Jake long, but Edmund knew just how big his fear of people was. As soon as dinner was over, Edmund made his way up to his room. Hopefully Jake would be there. He wasn't.

Edmund sat on his bed, content to wait until Jake got there. Fifteen minutes later, Jake walked in. He tensed as soon as he saw Edmund. "I want to talk." Edmund said.

Jake sat down on his own bed. "Okay."

"Why did you suddenly change your mind?"

Jake fidgeted. "I was shown how I should love my neighbors." That confused Edmund. Jake continued, "I was wrong to be so selfish. I am sorry for hurting you and also damaging the reputation you were trying to rebuild."

"I want to still be angry at you. But having been forgiven for much worse, it would be hypocritical if I didn't forgive you." Jake looked up, surprised. He clearly hadn't expected Edmund to let go so quickly. "Besides, it really wouldn't be beneficial to me to lose the only person who doesn't view me as a bully."

Jake laughed and Edmund joined in.

NARNIANARNIANARNIA

It would be nice to say that everything was fixed. That once the truth got out people started to see Edmund in a different light. That William and Brandon were suspended or punished for all that they did. But none of that happened. The student's continued to disbelieve Edmund's change. William and Brandon had the incident added to their records, but no further punishment.

But, as he sat down for another game of chess, Edmund knew that not everything came instantly. There were some things that just took time. But, for the moment, at least he had two people with him: Jake and Peter, and maybe, just maybe, Aslan was with him as well.

**The End**

**A/N: Well, about a month later, here is the final chapter. I'm sorry it took so long to get it up. School and work and company kept me from writing immediately, and then I lost interest. I wanted to finish the story and I knew I had one chapter left, so I forced myself to sit down. I had already had the chapter planned out. This story ended up being longer than I had planned. **

**I didn't tie in all the loose ends because I know that not everything can be solved in such a short amount of time. In the beginning of the story, Edmund wanted everything to be done immediately. He didn't want to go through the mistrust again, but he had to. In the end he accepted that it would take time. I also didn't have Edmund connect the dots between Jesus and Aslan because if he had figured that out then there would be a point to PC or VDT. Aslan says at the end of VTD that it was time they learned about him in their own world, with a different name. That was the whole point of their going to Narnia.**

**Jake was a bit easier to write, because he was my own character. I had wanted him to develop more, but I thought anymore and it would take away from Edmund's story, I already feel like it did anyway.**

**All in all, the first part was my favorite part of the story. But as the writer, I know I am more critical about my own work than I would be if it was another's. Please review the chapter, and thank you for bearing with me and my infrequent updates.**


End file.
